A 64-year-old Florida man is behind bars after authorities say he gunned down his stepdaughter inside their home Sunday morning following a brief disagreement in the kitchen. James Pelzer faces one count of dangerous and depraved murder without premeditation for the death of Alanda Cuffee.
Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the residence on the 2500 block of Gulf Breeze Avenue around 10:30 a.m. after Pelzer called 911 to report the shooting himself.
Upon their arrival, Pelzer surrendered in the yard, reportedly telling deputies, “I messed up. I messed up bad.” He informed officers that the weapon, a small black Ruger .380, was sitting on top of a Bible near the front door.
Inside the home, first responders discovered Cuffee unresponsive in a pool of blood. She was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
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The victim’s mother, who witnessed the incident, told investigators the violence was sparked by a simple request for politeness. According to the probable cause affidavit, Pelzer tried to walk around Cuffee in the kitchen.
When the mother told her daughter to move out of the way, Cuffee replied, “Well, Mama, he could say excuse me.”
Investigators say Pelzer didn’t say a word. Instead, he walked to his bedroom, returned with a handgun, and fired four to five rounds at his stepdaughter. Sheriff Chip Simmons characterized the motive as a dispute over “movement inside the house, whether one could walk around without bumping into the other.”
The victim’s mother told police that as she began to pray out loud over her daughter’s body, Pelzer told her to “be quiet.” While Pelzer later expressed regret to the arresting officers, he refused to answer further questions and requested an attorney.
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Records indicate that while Pelzer allegedly had a history of anger issues and had made verbal threats involving his firearm in the past, the mother noted he had never been physically violent toward them before Sunday.
Pelzer is being held at the Escambia County Jail without bond and is set for a court appearance on May 8.
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